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The Week UK July 10 2021
The Week UK July 10 2021
The Week UK July 10 2021
THE WEEK
10 JULY 2021 | ISSUE 1339 | £3.99 THE BEST OF THE BRITISH AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
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NHS staff “over seven decades, could join Nasa. Later, she has run trials to see if they can
and especially in recent times”. became the first female do the same for micro-plastics.
It is only the third time the flight instructor at a US Their findings suggest that 300
George Cross (which is awarded military base. Her test mussels can filter out 250,000
on the advice of the PM and a scores were excellent, but shards of microplastic each
committee) has been given to a Nasa still wouldn’t accept her. Now, though, Amazon billionaire hour. They calculate that if
non-individual: Malta won it in Jeff Bezos has invited her to be his guest of honour on his first deployed to estuaries, they
1942, for its wartime courage; space flight, on 20 July. “No one has waited longer,” he said, on could filter up to 25% of
the RUC in 1999. Instagram. “Welcome to the crew, Wally.” waterborne particles.
COVER CARTOON: NEIL DAVIES
THE WEEK 10 July 2021
…and how they were covered NEWS 5
What the commentators said What next?
It was hard to follow the logic of Johnson’s announcement this week, said Robert Hutton on As of 16 August, fully
TheCritic.co.uk. The PM gravely declared that the pandemic was still very much with us and vaccinated people in England
that cases were increasing fast – but then confirmed that he was going to help cases increase will no longer have to self-
even faster by scrapping social distancing rules. He then advised the public not to “get demob isolate if a close contact tests
happy” and to keep wearing masks in crowded situations. His message, in short, was: “it’s not positive for Covid. The same
over, but you can act as if it is, but you shouldn’t”. Don’t bother looking for sense in the PM’s will also apply to under-18s.
Covid stance, said Elliot Chappell on LabourList.org. It has little to do with public health and Some have urged the
everything to do with appeasing those restive Tory backbenchers who cried “hallelujah” in the Government to bring that
Commons at the news of the lifting of restrictions. date forward, warning that
with the number of new
Opening up the country as it’s riding a huge new wave of infections does seem counterintuitive, infections rising fast, millions
said Tom Whipple in The Times. But the PM is not alone in thinking it’s a gamble worth of people could be obliged to
taking. That’s also the broad consensus of the Government’s scientific advisers. Better now, self-isolate for ten days over
they reckon, than to delay until September when, with schools back and people spending more the next few weeks.
time indoors, it might lead to an even larger wave of cases that runs into the winter flu season.
The hope in any case is that the vaccination programme will hold the line. “At the height of the The lifting of restrictions in
pandemic, more than 1 in 10 recorded cases ended in hospital. Today it is fewer than 1 in 50.” England may put it at odds
with the other home nations
Given all the variables, nobody really knows how things will pan out over the coming months, of the UK. Wales has yet to
said Ian Sample in The Guardian. About 99% of UK deaths from Covid so far have been set a date for easing any more
among those aged 40 or over. By 19 July, nearly everyone in this age group will have been rules, though it is expected to
offered two jabs – and we know that a double dose of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer is more announce a review of its
than 90% effective at preventing deaths from the Delta variant of Covid. This means that even policies on 14 July. Scotland
a very large number of infections shouldn’t carry too heavy a toll. On the other hand, the larger has set a later target date on
the reservoir of infected people, the greater is the risk of a new variant emerging that might 9 August for dropping more
have substantial vaccine resistance. “This is the gamble the Government is taking.” restrictions.
THE WEEK
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in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers 10 July 2021 THE WEEK
6 NEWS Politics
Controversy of the week Borders bill unveiled
Leaving Afghanistan Knowingly arriving in the UK
without “valid entry
clearance” will become a
“The Taliban is on the march,” said Ishaan Tharoor in The criminal offence, under the
Washington Post. In recent weeks, its forces have swept government’s new
through Badakhshan Province in northern Afghanistan, Nationality and Borders Bill.
chasing more than 1,000 Afghan government troops across Unveiled this week, the much
the border to Tajikistan. The area was once an anti-Taliban anticipated bill also includes
stronghold. But ever since President Biden confirmed in a maximum life sentence for
anyone convicted of people
April that the last Nato troops would withdraw by 11
smuggling; new powers for
September, at the latest, the fundamentalists have “surged”. Border Patrol to divert boats
Twenty years ago, the US ousted the Taliban from Kabul carrying migrants across the
during “Operation Enduring Freedom”. Now a shaky Channel; and measures to
Afghan government, led by President Ashraf Ghani, has allow asylum claims to be
been left to battle an emboldened Taliban, which currently processed outside the UK.
controls roughly a third of the country’s 421 districts. The Taliban forces: surging The Home Secretary Priti
US exit, which started to accelerate last week, seems hasty Patel said the reforms were
and disorganised. It abandoned the vast Bagram airbase – the former hub of its operations – “in the “firm but fair”, and would
enable the UK to control its
dead of night” last Friday, reportedly without even informing Bagram’s new Afghan commander.
borders. However,
Biden seems “eager to turn the page”. When the press quizzed him on the withdrawal before the campaigners said they would
US’s annual Fourth of July celebrations, he said, “I want to talk about happy things, man.” “criminalise asylum”.
People in Afghanistan don’t have that luxury, said Shabnam Nasimi in The Daily Telegraph. By Time to sue builders
leaving now, the West is “betraying” millions of ordinary Afghans, particularly women to whom it Home owners are going to
promised – and briefly gave – a better life. Millions of girls are in school, and women have entered be given more time in which
professions and politics. All such gains could vanish overnight. Recent months have seen a wave of to claim compensation for
assassinations of public servants by fundamentalists. And in districts the Taliban has retaken, it has dangerous cladding and poor
already issued new laws ordering women not to leave home alone. The US and Nato have an even workmanship. Under the
Building Safety Bill, owners
more urgent responsibility for those Afghans who risked their lives to work for them, such as
will have 15 years in which to
its local interpreters, said Michael Wendt on The Hill. The US has pledged to evacuate them, but sue developers – up from six
its sluggish “special immigrant visa” scheme has a backlog of some 18,000 people. US officials must – and the change will be
cut through the red tape and get them out, before a vengeful Taliban reaches them first. applied retrospectively,
meaning that the residents
Sadly, that day may now be closer than we imagined, said Hugh Tomlinson in The Times. General of a building completed in
Austin S. Miller, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, has expressed alarm at the 2010 would have until 2025
speed of Taliban gains. “I don’t like leaving friends in need,” he said. “We should be concerned.” to take action. However,
Biden is making a grave mistake, said Gerald F. Seib in The Wall Street Journal. An “America-first” campaigners said the change
was meaningless, as in many
US grew weary of a faraway war it couldn’t “win”. Yet simply by being there – at the relatively low
cases, the developers no
cost of maintaining a few thousand US troops – it prevented a far more dangerous situation. A longer exist, and the
Taliban return to power would be a humanitarian disaster. But it could also open the door for leaseholders cannot afford
Afghanistan to become, once again, a “safe haven” for Islamist extremists intent on harming the US. to instruct solicitors.
Madrid
Rape law tightened: The Spanish
government is introducing a law to define
all non-consensual sex as rape, as part of a
major reform of its penal code on assault.
The bill comes five years after a notorious
case in which five men who’d gang raped
an 18-year-old woman, during Pamplona’s
Running of the Bulls festival, were
originally only convicted of sexual
abuse, because in footage of the attack,
the woman appeared silent and passive;
and the court decided that there was
no evidence of violence or intimidation
– which was required under existing law.
The verdict prompted demonstrations
across Spain. Dubbed the “only yes is yes”
law, the new legislation – which still
requires parliamentary approval – will
define rape as any sex without clear
consent. It will also class stalking and cat-
calling as crimes, instead of misdemeanours.
neutral Switzerland, which last fought a The 84-year-old square miles of forest and farmland had
foreign war more than 200 years ago, has Pontiff didn’t been razed. A 67-year-old farmer has been
no need for cutting-edge fighter jets. The mention the operation during his Sunday arrested and remanded in custody on
decision to buy the jets from Lockheed, address, though a week earlier he had suspicion of causing the fire, which he
instead of one of the European firms in asked congregants to pray for him, which denies. Cyprus has been grappling with a
consideration, has also been seen as a may have been because he was preparing blistering heatwave: temperatures have hit
rebuff to the EU at a time of strained for the surgery. Francis, who suffers from 40°C, and there has been very little rain
relations between Bern and Brussels. The diverticulitis, a condition which can since mid-April. Various parts of Europe
government says the planes are necessary inflame the colon, was described as “in have experienced heatwaves this summer,
to defend Swiss airspace, and for tasks good general condition” after the three- including Finland. In Arctic Lapland, the
such as patrolling the skies during the hour operation, but was expected to stay mercury hit 33.6ºC – the highest
World Economic Forum in Davos. in hospital for a week. temperature for more than a century.
Wilmington, Delaware
Sexual abuse settlement: The Boy Scouts of America has
reached a preliminary deal to pay $850m (£617m) in
compensation to some of the 60,000 people who have
made claims of child abuse against the organisation.
If it goes through, it will be one of the largest
settlements in US history involving sexual abuse claims. Even
so, Tim Kosnoff, one of the lawyers representing the victims,
described it as a “rotten, chump deal”: he noted that some men
who had been abused for years might end up with payouts of just
a few thousand dollars. The 111-year-old organisation apologised
to survivors and filed for bankruptcy in Delaware last year, saying
it would set up a compensation trust for men who were molested
as youngsters by scoutmasters and other “leaders”.
Gulf of Mexico
“Eye of fire”: An underwater
gas leak caused a huge, whirling
fire to burst out of the sea west
of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula
last week. Footage of the
strange circular blaze – which
took more than five hours to
bring under control – went viral
on social media, where it was
dubbed the “eye of fire”. According to Mexico’s state-run oil
company Pemex, the subaquatic fireball was the result of a leak
from a pipeline that coincided with a lightning storm.
Tegucigalpa Santiago
Assassination plot: The former head of a major Honduran New constitution: A woman from
construction company has been found guilty of the murder of the Chile’s indigenous Mapuche people
prize-winning indigenous environmental activist Berta Cáceres in has been chosen to lead the drafting
2016. Roberto David Castillo, a US-trained former Honduran of Chile’s new constitution, as part of efforts to ensure power
army intelligence officer, was president of Desarrollos Energéticos is spread more equitably across the nation. Elisa Loncón, a
© MANUEL LOPEZ SAN MARTIN/TWITTER
(Desa) when he collaborated in Cáceres’s assassination. Days university professor and campaigner for indigenous rights, was
earlier, the campaigner had received threats for opposing one of chosen for the role by 96 of the 155 members of Chile’s new
Desa’s dam projects. The high court in Tegucigalpa found that constitutional body. Under her leadership, the delegates will draft
Cáceres had been killed because she had been leading a campaign a new text to replace Chile’s previous constitution, which was
to stop a dam being built on the Gualcarque River, on land that is produced during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet: it was
sacred to her Lenca people. In its verdict, the court also noted that notably pro-business, and its many critics say it has done much
Castillo had used paid informants as well as military contacts to to exacerbate inequalities in Chile. Delegates have nine months to
monitor Cáceres in the years prior to her murder. write a new constitution that will then be put to a referendum.
Atami, Japan
Deadly mudslide: More
than 1,000 soldiers, police
and firefighters were sent
to the Japanese resort of
Atami this week to search
for survivors of a huge
mudslide. Triggered by
days of torrential rain, the
deluge of muddy water,
debris and rock damaged
more than 130 buildings
on Saturday morning. By
Wednesday, four people
were confirmed dead, and
24 were missing. Heavy
rain was ongoing this
week, and residents in
other at-risk areas were
urged to take
precautions.
How bad is the shortage? will rise; and premium electronic features
“Never seen anything like it,” Tesla’s like navigation systems or extra screens
Elon Musk tweeted last month. Since are being dropped in order to stretch the
late 2020, the world has been facing an supply of chips further. In electronics,
unexpected dearth of microchips – the trade prices for computer memory have
tiny integrated circuits that are nowadays risen around 30% since the start of
found in practically every manufactured 2020, pushing up costs for items such
device with a battery or a plug – from as laptops and printers. HP has raised
toasters to TVs to airbags to fighter consumer PC prices by 8% and printers
jets. The scarcity was first seen in by more than 20% in a year. Prices for
sophisticated consumer electronics: TVs, smartphones and home appliances
gaming consoles like the PlayStation 5 look set to increase too. The chip
and the new Xbox have had big order shortage also has governments worried.
backlogs; prices for computer graphics
cards have shot up. But because semi- Why are governments worried?
conductor chips are so ubiquitous, a Chips are now such a crucial component
large number of industries have been in many strategic technologies – from
affected. The car industry has been hit defence systems to cybersecurity to
hardest of all. Modern cars can easily “Chips are the new oil” renewable energy – that their
contain 3,000 chips, and the shortage has manufacture has become a big
slowed down vehicle assembly lines across the world: global geopolitical issue: policymakers say that “chips are the new oil”.
output will drop by four million cars, nearly 5%, this year. They were invented in the US, and much of the cutting-edge
design still takes place there, but around 80% of production
Why is it happening? now happens in Asia because costs are lower: mostly in Taiwan,
At the best of times, chip supply chains are hard to maintain: it South Korea and China. The world’s biggest producer by volume
is an industry prone to gluts and shortages. Fabrication plants is TSMC in Taiwan. Intel, based in California, is the biggest by
(“fabs”) for advanced chips are among the world’s most complex revenue. Along with South Korea’s Samsung, these companies
manufacturing facilities, costing tens of billions of dollars to build. dominate high-end, specialised chips. But China is positioned to
Lasers print billions of transistors onto tiny areas of silicon become the largest producer by 2030: its latest five-year plan sets
wafers; it can take three to four months to turn a large silicon the goal of meeting 70% of its semiconductor needs by 2025.
wafer into a useable batch of chips (see box). So the industry Europe accounts for less than 10% of global chip production.
tends to swing between undersupply and oversupply, in what
economists call a pork cycle: as with breeding pigs, there are lags What are governments doing about it?
in production. Producers invest when prices are high and find they Last month, the US Senate passed the Innovation and
are left with too much capacity when it finally comes on stream. Competition Act, a $250bn bill designed to boost US
At present, however, the trend in the industry is of remorseless semiconductor production, along with scientific research and
expansion: green tech, cloud computing, 5G, artificial intelligence, other strategic technologies. In March, the European Commission
cryptocurrency, robotics – all these growth areas eat up chips. set out an ambitious plan to grow its share of the global
And the pandemic has helped to create the perfect storm. semiconductor market to 20% by 2030, and committed $160bn
of its Covid recovery fund to tech projects. The UK has long had
What effect did the pandemic have? a strong presence in the design side of the industry, but few
It closed down many fabs temporarily. At the same time, the great producers; Newport Wafer Fab, the UK’s largest chip producer,
increase in working from home, and the increase in demand for has been acquired by Nexperia, a Chinese-owned company.
home entertainment, created a surge
in demand for electronics. PC sales The triumph of the microchip How long will the shortage last?
rose by 13% last year. In New York A microchip is a collection of anywhere from a few There is no end in sight. Intel’s chief
City alone, the department of hundred to tens of billions of tiny circuits on a small executive, Pat Gelsinger, said that he
education bought 350,000 iPads. wafer of silicon. Silicon is a semiconductor – it can thinks it could be two years before
Video calling meant that data centres either conduct electricity or contain it. On a chip, silicon production is able to ramp up. “The
needed more capacity. And during the transistors are miniature switches that can be turned shortage will probably continue for a
worst of the pandemic, car purchases on and off by electronic signals. Computers run using few years,” said Michael Dell, chief
plummeted. So while electronics binary code. Transistors reflect this: the digits 1 and 0 executive of Dell Technologies, earlier
used in binary represent the on and off states of a
companies bought up all available transistor. Essentially, the chip’s job is to shuttle
in the year. The likes of TSMC,
production capacity, car electrons around in a way prescribed by computer Samsung and Intel are all investing
manufacturers cancelled their orders. code. All the data on computers – numbers, pictures, heavily. But “even if chip factories
But later, when the carmakers were music, images – is stored and processed in this way. are built all over the world, it takes
ready to gear up production again, The invention of this kind of transistor, at Bell Labs in time”, says Dell. Many companies are
they found themselves at the back of New Jersey in 1947, and its increasing miniaturisation examining their supply chains: Tesla
the queue: microchip fabs can take up is the backbone of modern electronics. Moore’s Law, is considering buying a chip plant
to six months to re-start production coined by the chip pioneer Gordon Moore, states that outright. High-tech industries will
of specific types of chip. the number of transistors on a chip doubles about probably recover first, towards the
every two years, making computers ever more end of this year. Cars and home
How does this affect us? powerful. Today’s advanced chips are dizzyingly appliances, which use cheaper, older
complex: lasers imprint circuits just 12 nanometres
The supply of cars for sale is set to chips will take longer: they are not so
wide, the length a fingernail grows in 12 seconds.
be restricted later this year because of Transistors are thought to be the most manufactured profitable for manufacturers, so there
the shortage, the leading UK motor items in world history. The number of microchips sold is not the impetus for them to invest.
dealership Pendragon warned last globally in April reached a record of nearly 100 billion. Product delays and parts shortages
week. With fewer cars to sell, prices will continue for some time.
Belfast
Prosecutions dropped: To the anger of victims’ families, two
soldiers accused of Troubles-era killings have been told that they
will not face trial after all. One of the men, Soldier F, had been
accused of murdering James Wray and William McKinney on
Bloody Sunday in 1972. The other, Soldier B, was to be
prosecuted for the murder of 15-year-old Daniel Hegarty, who
was shot in the head during an Army operation in the same year.
But last week, Northern Ireland prosecutors announced that, in
light of an earlier case in which key evidence against veterans
facing similar charges was deemed inadmissible, there was no
longer any “reasonable prospect of conviction”. Veterans groups
welcomed the decision, but the Bloody Sunday families described
it as a “damning indictment of the British justice system”.
Slough, Berkshire
Council cash crisis: A local authority has effectively declared itself
bankrupt and suspended all non-urgent spending. Revealing a
“catastrophic” £100m black hole in its finances, Slough Borough
Council warned that “rigorous” measures, including job losses,
cuts to services and the sale of buildings, were now needed.
Otherwise, it said, the deficit could reach £150m by 2024. The
town has been hard hit by the pandemic, but the Labour-run
authority accepts that years of financial mismanagement and
accounting errors are partly to blame for its plight. It is the
third council to face insolvency in the last three years, after
Northamptonshire and Croydon. Earlier this year, the National
Audit Office found that at least 25 local authorities were on the
brink of bankruptcy.
Cardiff
Farming crime-buster: The Welsh government has appointed a
Wildlife and Rural Crime Coordinator, the first such post in the
UK, to combat rising crime levels in the countryside. Rob Taylor
will work on a range of issues, from fly-tipping and the theft of
heating oil to dog attacks on sheep. A recent report by the
farmers’ union, NFU Cymru, found that around one in five Welsh
farmers had been the victims of crime in 2020. Theft accounted
for more than half the offences; more than a third of farmers had
felt the need to install CCTV. Across the UK, rural crime rose by
11% in 2019 with organised gangs targeting expensive machinery
such as quad bikes and tractors, sometimes for sale overseas.
Isles of Scilly
Wally not wanted: The giant London
Arctic walrus who appeared in Transport gloom: Transport for London has lost a record £100m
British waters in the spring has in advertising revenue, owing to commuters staying away from its
outstayed his welcome in his Tube, train and bus network during the pandemic. As passenger
latest haunt off the Isles of numbers dropped to as low as 10% of their normal levels last
Scilly. Wally, who weighs year, advertisers withdrew their business. As a result, TfL’s
around a tonne, has damaged commercial revenues in the 12 months to March fell to £50m,
or sunk a dozen boats since down from £158m in 2019. Passengers are now returning –
arriving at St Mary’s around numbers on the Tube are back to 45% of their 2019 levels, while
three weeks ago, and British Divers Marine Life Rescue has now on the buses the figure is 65% – but TfL is still struggling to meet
drawn up an action plan to dissuade the walrus from swimming its costs. Last month, it secured another £1bn in emergency
in or near the harbour. This includes the use of a range of funding from the Department for Transport. In return, TfL has
“humane deterrents”, such as the recorded growls of polar bears. pledged to make savings of £900m this financial year.
things really the good news is it’s baseless. Yes, poor folk living in rich neigh-
bourhoods are more likely to kill themselves than those living in
A 65-year-old Austrian man
was recovering in hospital
are looking up poor ones, perhaps due to the starker comparison in fortunes. Yet
overall, it’s just not true that greater wealth makes people more
this week after an escaped 5ft
python slithered through the
plumbing and bit him in the
Emma Duncan suicidal. Quite the opposite. Since the mid-1990s, as the world crotch while he used his
has got far richer, the global suicide rate has fallen by a third. lavatory. Police in the city of
The Times For young women in China, it has declined by an incredible 90%. Graz said that, upon sitting
Urbanisation has freed them from the constraints of village life down on the toilet shortly
and unhappy marriages (and made it harder to get hold of guns after 6am, the unnamed man
felt a sudden “pinch in the
and poison). In many countries, the suicide rate among old people
genital area”. He found an
has also plummeted – a trend almost certainly due to the higher albino reticulated python,
incomes and advances in medical treatment and palliative care which is thought to have
that the elderly now enjoy. So don’t let the pessimists get away escaped from the home of a
with calling this the “paradox of progress”. “This is progress.” neighbouring reptile collector.
However, pythons aren’t
So that’s that then, says Matthew Lynn. As of 19 July, we’ll no venomous and the wound
longer have to wear a face mask in enclosed public spaces. Some was said to be “light”. The
Unmasking the people will bin them with relief, others will opt to keep wearing
them, and both sides will move on, respecting the other’s point of
owner may face criminal
negligence charges.
line that divides view. Think so? Fat chance. A glance at social media tells us that
the face mask is now a cultural dividing line. “Maskers and anti-
a nation maskers look set to become the new Remainers and Leavers (with
almost, if not quite, the same tribes in both camps).” The former
Matthew Lynn see mask-wearing as an act of good citizenship and despise those
who’d put the community at risk; the latter see it as a “pointless
The Daily Telegraph imposition” favoured by “doom-mongers who never want to
return to normal life”. The clinical utility of masks is secondary;
it’s all about signalling the type of person you are. “Are you
freedom-loving and rational, or socially responsible and selfless?”
With luck we may succeed in beating Covid soon, but the divi-
sions opened up by lockdown will be with us for years to come.
come cheap dirty buildings where basic services don’t work and support staff
have been cut to the bone”. The pandemic has exacerbated the
stuck up there. Mary
McCarthy, a 45 year old from
Christchurch, New Zealand,
Editorial problem, but the underlying cause is a decade of spending cuts. inhaled the tiddlywink by
© WILL CUTBILL/GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS
Some measures the Ministry of Justice has taken in order to cope mistake while playing a game
Financial Times – repurposing civic buildings to serve as emergency “Nightingale” when she was eight. She
courts; allowing some short technical proceedings to be heard forgot about the episode,
remotely – are welcome. Other proposed remedies, notably the but afterwards suffered from
plan to reduce juries from 12 members to seven, are certainly not. chronic sinus pain, which
became very severe after a
Eroding a fundamental right to be tried “by a full complement of Covid-19 swab test last year.
one’s peers” cannot be justified. No, the only way to fix our Doctors found and removed
broken justice system is to fund it properly. If we don’t, the long the offending object in June.
delays will continue, “and justice delayed is justice denied”.
Here’s an awful statistic, says Brian Sheppard: in the US, about one black man in 1,000 will be killed
How to stop by a police officer; and nearly one in five of the men killed will be unarmed. Clearly, something needs
to change. A good place to start would be to make it harder for officers to access firearms. The
cops shooting reality is that they don’t need a loaded gun on them all the time, and the constant presence of their
firearms often causes tension and leads to situations escalating out of control. Officers spend only an
from the hip estimated 4% of their time responding to crimes of violence. Most of their tasks pose little danger to
them: the death rate of farmers, garbage collectors, roofers and delivery drivers is two to three times
Brian Sheppard higher than that of cops. So let’s introduce a system whereby guns are kept in smart lockboxes in
police cars that can be remotely opened by staff back at the station, when officers on the ground
Slate specifically request it. As a fail-safe, officers would be able to override the lock, although that would
trigger a mandatory review. Yes, this might lead to some incidents of officers being hurt or killed
while their gun is still in the box, but those tragedies would “likely be outnumbered by the peaceful
encounters that would otherwise have taken a dark turn had a gun been on the officer’s hip”.
The recent headlines about Britney Spears have highlighted the problem of “guardianship abuse”
But who will in the US, says Kimberly Guilfoyle. Whether or not the star is being exploited by her father under
a legal protection order, this is happening to many vulnerable people. There are 1.5 million,
guard the mostly elderly, individuals under some form of guardianship in the US, with total assets of around
$270bn. Combine that with a system that presumes good faith and lacks adequate scrutiny, and the
guardians? opportunities for malfeasance by corrupt lawyers and other bad actors are “abundant”. Some awful
cases have come to light. Last year, a Florida woman escaped her guardian-imposed imprisonment
Kimberly Guilfoyle in a care facility by using a phone and Facebook to signal for help. In 2019, a retired schoolteacher
died alone in a hospice in Jefferson County, Alabama, after being placed there by a court-appointed
Newsweek guardian who reportedly banned her family from visiting her. The woman didn’t even live in the
county, but had been caught up in the system after stopping at a hospital on her way home from a
trip. “Guardianship abuse might just be one of the biggest criminal enterprises threatening the elderly
in America”, but we won’t know for sure until officials give the crisis the attention it deserves.
Who were the best and worst presidents in US history? Numerous league tables have been compiled
The worst over the years, says Mark K. Updegrove. The latest – based on a survey of 142 historians, who
scored ten criteria such as “crisis leadership” and “performance within context of time” – was issued
president in last week by C-SPAN. Top of the rankings, as usual, was Abraham Lincoln. And in last place, again,
was James Buchanan. This must have come as a relief to Donald Trump, but he didn’t exactly do
US history well: he finished 41st out of the 44 former presidents, above only Buchanan, Andrew Johnson and
Franklin Pierce, the three leaders who botched the lead-up to and the aftermath of the Civil War.
Mark K. Updegrove Some presidents rank poorly just after leaving office, but rise up the table as history takes a kinder
view of their tenure. Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, for example, both started in low
The New York Times positions, but are now ranked in the top ten. Will this happen with Trump? Unlikely. His term in
office will always be remembered for two key crises: the pandemic, and the attack on the Capitol
fuelled by his false claims of a stolen election. “Trump’s fecklessness in both cases, and his general
failure to put the nation above himself, will almost certainly continue to doom him in future polls.”
ITALY Italy’s populist Five Star Movement is in turmoil, says Sebastiano Messina. Founded in 2009 by
Beppe Grillo, the comedian, it won the biggest vote share of any party in elections in 2018, and
Is it curtains joined two subsequent coalitions. But it has been out of government since the second coalition
collapsed in February, and faces sagging poll ratings after reneging on key policy pledges. So in an
for Five Star’s effort to revive his party’s fortunes, Grillo recruited Italy’s former prime minister, Giuseppe Conte,
as its new leader in March. Conte, a lawyer, promised a “complete restructuring” of the party;
populists? sensibly enough, when it previously offered a mere “jumble of dreams, utopias and illusions”. That
proved too much for Grillo, a lifelong anti-establishmentarian, who has turned on Conte, publicly
la Repubblica accusing him of lacking “political vision” and talent. Yet he may find his broadside backfires: there
(Rome) is mounting speculation that Conte could now form a new party – and win support from many of
Five Star’s current MPs. Even by the standards of Italian politics, it’s a mess. Then again, a party
founded on the premise of telling politicians to “f**k off” was never likely to stay the course.
TURKEY Seldom has a grand infrastructure project looked less likely to succeed, says Ibrahim Kiras. Last
month, a foundation stone was laid for the first of six bridges over a huge new canal that President
A “crazy” Erdogan wants to build near Istanbul. It was the symbolic first step in what Erdogan himself has
called a “crazy” plan for a 28-mile waterway that would relieve pressure on the Bosphorus strait:
canal that is it would run from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara (which leads to the Mediterranean). The
canal has “no political support” outside Erdogan’s party, and has been dismissed by experts as
going nowhere “objectionable and dangerous”, likely to wreck marine ecosystems and compromise the city’s water
supply. In a weak economy, there’s no obvious way to pay for the scheme, for which there is no clear
Karar estimate: Erdogan said it was $15bn; the official website said $75bn. Opposition parties say they’ll
(Istanbul) repudiate the contracts if they win elections in 2023; Turkish banks are loath to finance the plan.
Yet Erdogan is pressing ahead. Why? Because abandoning it would represent a serious loss of face,
and enrage his wealthy supporters, many of whom have bought land along what will be the canal’s
banks to build luxury homes. It’s absurd: this delusional project must be stopped, once and for all.
With two words, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has put the US in its place, says Maleeha
PAKISTAN Hashmey. As the US military withdraws from Afghanistan, it is badgering Pakistan to let CIA drones
The price we’ve be stationed on our soil for counter-terror operations. The drones are needed, says the US, to replace
the intelligence infrastructure it built during its 20-year war in Afghanistan. But Khan isn’t
paid for the US interested. “Absolutely not”, he replied when asked in a recent interview whether he’d allow such
a deployment. The US should take him at his word. Khan campaigned on getting Americans out of
War on Terror Pakistan, and since his election in 2018, there have been no drone strikes here. We’ve already paid
an “unbelievably high” price in the so-called War on Terror. At least 60,000 Pakistanis have died in
The Nation the conflict, and our country has suffered an estimated $118bn in economic losses. In recent years,
(Lahore) we’ve gone to great lengths to protect ourselves against militant incursions from Afghanistan – even
building a chain-link fence, topped with barbed-wire, along all 1,640 miles of our border. Allowing
US drone launches could jeopardise that new-found safety, along with the stability which is a
“mighty win-win” for all nations in the region. The “old Pakistan” that bowed to the US is gone.
The “last ice area” is now melting A million long Covid cases
The Arctic’s “last refuge” for polar bears Almost a million people in Britain were
and walruses may be more vulnerable to suffering long Covid in May – around
climate change than previously thought, 376,000 of whom had been battling
researchers have warned. The Wandel symptoms for at least a year. The
Sea region, to the north of Greenland, is figures came from the Office for
referred to as the “last ice area”, because National Statistics (ONS), which defined
long Covid as symptoms persisting for
the ice there has remained thick year on
more than four weeks. Two-thirds of
year – and because it was expected to sufferers said their symptoms were
remain so, even after other parts of the limiting their day-to-day activities; nearly
Arctic melted. As such, it was viewed as one in five said it was limiting them “a
a vital refuge for mammals that use ice lot”. Fatigue was the most commonly
to rest, feed and breed. But last August, reported symptom, followed by short-
a German research vessel sailed to the area ness of breath. But although the ONS
– and found alarmingly large stretches of open water where ice should have been. figures suggested that 962,000 people
Researchers from the University of Washington have now looked at data and had long Covid in May, separate
research has found that between
satellite images dating back to 1979, and found that climate change has contributed
February and April, only 23,273 cases
to long-term thinning of the ice in the Wandel Sea area. This, in turn, made it more had been formally recorded by GPs in
susceptible to the main cause of last year’s melt: unusually strong summer winds, England. Experts said the discrepancy
which blew the ice away. The area had been considered relatively safe from climate could be down to sufferers not seeing
© CHUANG ZHAO
change, because as sea ice circulates, it piles up against Greenland and the northern their GPs – but also the result of GPs not
Canadian coast. But climate models will now have to be reassessed, they said. diagnosing cases, or not logging them.
Cricketing Lives
by Richard H. Thomas Novel of the week
Reaktion Books 440pp £20 Animal
The Week Bookshop £16.99 by Lisa Taddeo
Bloomsbury 336pp £16.99
In this absorbing book, Richard H. Thomas The Week Bookshop £13.99
tells the “long and involved” history of cricket
through some of its most colourful characters, Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women – an “intimate
said Marcus Berkmann in The Spectator. Luckily investigation” of female sexuality in America –
for him – and for us – the sport has always was the “biggest publishing sensation of 2019”,
attracted eccentrics, from oddballs such as W.G. said Madeleine Feeny in the London Evening
Grace (right) to Geoffrey Boycott, to the many Standard. As a result, “all eyes are trained” on
less familiar figures in Thomas’s account. One Taddeo’s debut novel, Animal. And it proves
such figure is Wilf Wooller, who captained to be a dark, carnal tale, “drenched in sex and
Glamorgan to the championship in 1948 and later became the club’s president. blood”. It begins with Joan, the beautiful but
In the latter guise, Thomas portrays him as a “terrifying figure”, prowling the damaged narrator, driving cross-country to Los
boundary in his sports jackets and brown suede shoes, often commandeering the Angeles and renting a ramshackle three-storey
public address system to denounce the negative tactics of opposing teams. house up Topanga Canyon. Sex, rape and
“Drinkers, adventurers and shaggers abound” in these pages, said Patrick murder ensue: “men hunt women, women hunt
Kidd in The Critic. A century ago, the Hon. Lionel Tennyson (grandson of the men, and damaged women hunt one another”.
poet laureate) found himself summoned to make his Test debut for England the Taddeo’s writing can be “exceptionally
next day while “deep into a night at the Embassy Club on Bond Street”. He good”, said Sandra Newman in The Guardian.
struck an extravagant bet with one of his companions that he would score a But the “careening outlandishness” of the plot
half-century – and duly made 74. And it’s not just “Boys’ Own stories”: Thomas seems at odds with the book’s “serious content”:
doesn’t neglect the “great female legends of cricket”. Eileen Ash, an England much of the incident is “gratuitously bizarre and
player in the 1940s (who is still alive, aged 109), “flew in a Tiger Moth on her seedy”. It rather grew on me, said Melissa
100th birthday and kept one of Don Bradman’s bats by her bed to repel Katsoulis in The Times. Taddeo is attempting
burglars”. Nancy Doyle, the “volcanic” head cook at Lord’s, once responded to something radical, which is “flipping American
Mike Brearley’s request for lighter fare than steak and kidney pudding by telling Psycho for the #MeToo generation”. She hasn’t
England’s then captain: “You worry about the f***ing cricket, and I’ll worry quite found her fictional stride, but she has the
about the f***ing food.” Heavy on research but light in touch, this is a book “guts and big ideas to become something great”.
with something for everyone – “even those who find the game dull”.
To order these titles or any other book in print, visit
theweekbookshop.co.uk or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835
Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm
But Edith!, a comedy-drama about President Woodrow Wilson’s driverless cars. Much of the fun arises from Gladwell “gleefully
wife, who took over running the White House in 1919 after he experimenting” with Google’s self-driving car, Waymo: throwing
suffered a stroke, is a treat. The writing is “fast and fun”, with beach balls at it, racing it, and riding around in it while abusing
clear shades of Veep, Armando Iannucci’s TV comedy hit about learner drivers. “It’s good to have him back.”
Grosse Pointe to do one last Hemingway: another brilliant series from Ken Burns
job, and attend a high-school
reunion where he hopes to Documentary-makers Ken Burns Later “readings of
win back the girl he jilted on and Lynn Novick have taken on Hemingway’s work have
many monumental American sometimes accused him of
prom night (Minnie Driver). subjects, from Jefferson to jazz. misogyny and homophobia”,
Their latest is Ernest Hemingway, said Rebecca Nicholson in The
Romy and Michele’s High the most influential US writer of Guardian. The series accepts
School Reunion Lisa the 20th century, said Camilla those readings, while attempting
Kudrow and Mira Sorvino Long in The Sunday Times. Their “to craft a story that may explain
bring charming chemistry to “signature skill” – turning still this ‘brute, and lover, and man
this delightfully silly cult hit images into “something that feels about town’”. We learn, for
from 1997 about two ditzy like a newsreel” – works well instance, that his mother liked to
Valley Girls who were bullied here, as there are many wonderful dress him and one of his sisters
photos of the man and his milieu A “moreish” documentary as twins; and that he blamed her
by the “A group” at school, to draw on, and the six-part series for his father’s unhappiness. This
and so invent fake CVs in an is “extraordinarily moreish”. It positively packs is a gripping series, with contributions from the
effort to impress their former in high-quality information, though it only likes of Edna O’Brien, and top flight actors
classmates at a ten-year skims over the writer’s “rabid violence, his (including Jeff Daniels and Meryl Streep)
school reunion. racism, his disgusting treatment of women”. reading from his letters and books.
A LIFETIME’S PASSION:
PROPERTY FROM THE FELL COLLECTION
VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT
Friday 16 July (10am-5pm)
Sunday 18 July (10am-4pm)
Monday 19 & Tuesday 20 July (10am-5pm)
To book an appointment please email info@dreweatts.com.
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+44 (0) 1635 553 553 | info@dreweatts.com
Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE
Catalogue and free online bidding: dreweatts.com
In collaboration with
the local council when she took the theme thoughts tormented me for about two years
one step further by installing statues of Fred and led me to make the biggest mistake of
and Wilma Flintstone, along with various my life,” Sarmantzopoulos told police. For
dinosaurs. The town took her to court, six months before the 2012 heist, he would
accusing her of causing a “public nuisance”. sit in the gallery for hours, observing the
Authorities in Hillsborough described guards and the security arrangements,
Fang’s project as an “eyesore”, arguing Fang’s dinosaurs: a “public nuisance”? before eventually carrying out the robbery
that residents are obliged to obtain a permit in seven minutes late at night. Panicked by
before erecting any sort of sculpture. Fang counter-sued, citing reports that the authorities were close to solving the case earlier
her property rights. Under the terms of the settlement, she will this year, he gave himself up, expressing remorse and leading
drop her lawsuit and apply for the necessary building permits. police to the remote ravine where he had hidden the paintings.
In return, Hillsborough will pay her $125,000. The robbery was “the biggest regret of my life”, he said.
Loxley, to Freddie’s dismay. After a work party, Lily sleeps with her colleague Sol. She confides in
Rex about her mixed feelings – she had fun with Sol, but feels guilty about being unfaithful to Russ July (kingsplace.co.uk). Retail
and thinks she should come clean. Meanwhile, Russ receives his decree absolute and can’t wait to guru Mary Portas discusses
tell Lily that he is finally divorced. Vince’s mother Iris comes to visit Lower Loxley, making a big How To Thrive in the New
impression on everyone, and warns Elizabeth how soft-hearted Vince is. Lily is aghast to see Sol Kindness Economy, her
at the drive-in movie night, but he knows she has a partner and hopes they can be friends. Later, take on how firms will or
Russ shares his news with Lily and shows her a portrait he has made of her – overwhelmed, she should behave in the post-
decides to keep quiet about her indiscretion. She wonders if they should get married, but Russ pandemic world; 18:30, 20
says they don’t need to. Elizabeth and Vince talk about the week’s goings-on and she tells him she July (howtoacademy.com).
loves him, but can’t live with him; he’s happy with that.
▲
Appletree Estate,
Newby, Penrith. This
family home and
holiday letting
business in the Eden
Valley is accessed by
a private driveway
and set in generous
gardens with superb
views to the Pennines.
The adjacent barn is
converted into 2 flats:
a 1-bed on the
ground floor and a
3-bed upstairs, along
with a 1-bed Garden
Cottage on the
grounds, all used as
successful holiday
lets. Appletree
cottage: main suite,
3 further beds, family
bath, kitchen, 2
receps, utility, garage,
stores. £895,000;
Fine & Country
(01768-869007).
▲ Devon: Natson Mill, Bow. Tucked away off a private road, this former mill
with traditional Devon longhouse and stone cottage is in a courtyard setting
with extensive outbuildings, nestled on its own land on the banks of the River
Yeo. 4-bed farmhouse, 2-bed mill cottage, arboretum, orchard, variety of
outbuildings, 14.5 acres. £975,000; Fox Grant (01722-782727).
Carmarthenshire:
▲
Clearbrook Hall,
Llanarthney, Carmarthen.
Located in 45 acres of
serene and stunning
countryside, this stately
Georgian house and 2 semi-
detached, Grade II 3-bed
cottages sit in an elevated
position surrounded by
landscaped gardens,
managed woodland,
meadows and pastures.
Main house: 5 suites, 6
receps. Large paddocks,
1-acre stocked pond, walled
garden with tennis court,
large outdoor swimming
pool, summer house,
2 sand schools, 3 stables,
manège, plus additional
outbuildings. OIEO £1.5m;
Fine & Country (01834-
862138).
▲
An imposing Grade II former vicarage set in beautiful
grounds. Main suite, 4 further beds, family bath,
kitchen/breakfast room, 4 receps, hall, pantry, scullery,
garden room, boot room, store, 2 WCs, coach house
with carriage room and stable, hayloft, groom’s room,
formal gardens, orchard, summerhouse, wood. OIEO
£1m; Finest Properties (01434-622234).
▲
▲
Cheshire: Faulkners
▲
Tomato and fennel fish stew with garlic and oregano bread
Just because you’re self-catering in a camper van doesn’t mean you can’t eat well, say Claire Thomson and Matt Williamson in their
new book. This fish stew is simple and delicious. Look out for firm, white, locally caught fish at the fishmongers or fish counter
(if you are near the sea, ask the fishmonger’s advice). Serve it with oregano garlic bread, which you can wrap in foil and either
toast in the fire if you’re having one, or warm through in a dry pan over a moderate-low heat.
Serves 4 3 tbsp good olive oil, plus more to serve 1 small onion, finely chopped or sliced 3 celery stalks, finely chopped or sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely sliced a pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional), plus more to taste a big pinch of salt, plus more to taste
2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed 1 tsp dried oregano ½ a can of chopped tomatoes, or about 1 cupful of chopped fresh tomato
700ml fish or vegetable stock, or water 700g firm white fish, cut into bite-size pieces juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
black pepper for the garlic and oregano bread: 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste 2 tsp dried oregano 100g butter, softened
(about 7 tbsp) 1 large baguette, slashed at 3cm intervals
• Heat the olive oil in a wide, shallow pan over tomatoes to the onion and celery in the pan
a moderate heat. Add the onion, celery and and continue to cook for another couple of
garlic, and the chilli flakes (if using). Season minutes, until rich and thick. Add the stock or
well with the big pinch of salt and some black water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down
pepper and cook for 10 minutes, until soft and to a simmer and add the fish, then cover with a
fragrant. lid and simmer until the fish is opaque and just
• While that’s cooking, prepare the garlic cooked through – 5-7 minutes should do,
bread. Mash the crushed garlic and the oregano depending on the size and thickness of the fish.
into the butter and season with salt and pepper. • Add the lemon zest and check the seasoning,
Use the mixture to butter the slashed bread. adjusting with lemon juice and more salt,
Wrap it in foil and place it on a heat source (in pepper and chilli flakes accordingly.
the embers of your campfire or in a dry pan) to • To serve, ladle the stew into bowls with
allow it to warm through and melt the butter. plenty of the sauce and serve with the garlic
• Add the fennel seeds, oregano and chopped bread alongside.
Taken from Camper Van Cooking by Claire Thomson and Matt Williamson, published by Quadrille at £20.
To buy from The Week Bookshop for £16.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
▲
is a great dual-fuel option Handmade in Portugal, th his
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Monday, made a powerful
first impression on Jeff
Bezos soon after joining the
Nouriel Roubini the “worst of the stagflationary 1970s” (inflation and recession upstart bookseller fresh from
at the same time) combined with the multiple debt crises of the Harvard Business School in
Project Syndicate 2007-2010 period. Because debt levels are far higher than in the 1997. During a game of
1970s, central banks will be put in an “impossible” position. “broomball” – a blend of
lacrosse and football
They can raise rates and risk a gigantic debt crisis and depression.
invented by an Amazon
Or they can stay loose, and risk double-digit inflation and staffer – the newcomer Jassy
“deep stagflation”. They’ll be damned either way, since many whacked the boss over the
governments will be semi-insolvent and “unable to bail out banks, head with a kayak paddle.
corporations and households”. This disaster is approaching. “The Bezos, 57, not only forgave
question is not if, but when.” Jassy, 53, but “quickly and
repeatedly promoted” the
Half a year into Brexit proper, the worst “prophecies of short- intensely competitive New
term disaster” have failed to materialise, says the FT. Kent did not Yorker, said Rupert Neate
Brexit: the six- seize up with lorries; pharmacy shelves did not empty; bankers
failed to “decamp in their tens of thousands”. But if “disruption
and Sarah Butler in The
Guardian. His faith paid off.
month report
As Bezos’s “intellectual
has not been visible” – partly masked by the pandemic – it has sparring partner”, Jassy first
been significant and ominous. Nearly a third of British companies suggested expanding from
card trading with the EU have seen business fall or stop altogether. All
the early evidence confirms that “erecting barriers with the UK’s
books into CDs and DVDs,
and later proposed the
Editorial nearest and largest market” will damage long-term growth. And company’s crucial move into
although financial services have lost less than feared, the UK is no cloud storage. Amazon Web
Financial Times longer pushing for a crucial equivalence deal, since it’s clear the Services, Jassy’s fiefdom, is
now the company’s “most
EU will not grant it. Alas, “getting Brexit done” has brought not
reliable source of profit”.
a “cathartic reset”, but further tensions and economic decoupling
that must be reversed – via further deals on facilitation and Jensen Huang
market access – if all this damage is to be limited. The current
Government, “tightly lashed to the Brexit mast”, has little interest
in addressing this. Let’s hope future ones will be “more willing”.
of the suit traditional business attire, while many had “regressed to polo
shirts and even T-shirts”. Plenty of men will say: good riddance.
had a few friends”, he says.
“We were all in the same
and tie But they should be careful what they wish for: “we discard the
tried-and-tested combo” at our peril. Sticking to suits saves male
three clubs: the maths club,
the computer club and the
science club.” It was a job at
Ben Wright office workers daily “bewildering” debate over what to wear. It Denny’s, the US diner chain,
also nullifies the faintly ludicrous displays of supposedly “non- that helped him become less
© WINNI WINTERMEYER/REDUX/EYEVINE
The Daily Telegraph conformist” power-play dress codes, such as those adopted by introverted. “It was a great
hedge fund managers (chinos, button-down shirts and armless way to get me out,” he says.
And it was at a branch of
fleeces) or tech entrepreneurs (compulsory white trainers). Most
Denny’s, on his 30th birthday
importantly, the rise of casual dressing risks further blurring the in 1993, that Huang and
necessary boundary between being on and off duty. If you’re friends “cooked up” the idea
always working from home, you “never get to leave the office. of Nvidia – now an industry
And if you’re always casual, you never get to fully relax. The best giant valued at $500bn.
thing about a suit may be that you can take it off.”
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towers, electric bikes and other should continue to drive the Hammered in the first couple up 7.64% to 444.03p
carbon-free kit for the G7 housebuilder’s sales, prices and of months of the pandemic, it
summit in Cornwall. Shares profits. Margins currently lag has recovered losses, and rental Worst tip
are punchy, but it’s well set to behind peers’, but are expected rates and occupancy levels are Hilton Food Group
Investors Chronicle
benefit from the US infrastruc- to improve. Hold. 429.2p. up. Yields a well-covered
down 1.55% to £11.44
ture splurge. Hold. £54.04. 2.9%. Hold. 112p.
Petrofac
Burberry The Times Stagecoach
The Sunday Telegraph The oil services group is still Investors Chronicle Market view
The departure of CEO Marco impacted by the SFO’s probe Passenger numbers may take
“The property market
Gobbetti has wiped £1bn off into suspected bribery, a while to return to pre-Covid
resembles a supermarket in
the luxury house’s value. corruption and money levels. Meanwhile, the the early days of lockdown:
Finding a new CEO to partner laundering, and is struggling to transport group has halted the shelves are bare and
creative chief Riccardo Tisci win work. Last year’s oil price capex, cut the dividend and only the dregs remain.”
amid Burberry’s “partially crash didn’t help, and the order negotiated covenant waivers Isabelle Fraser in The
successful” turnaround could backlog continues to fall. on debt. A dilutive placing may Daily Telegraph
take time. Sell. £20.49. Avoid. 111.1p. be necessary. Hold. 83p.
Market summary
Key numbers for investors Best and worst performing shares Following the Footsie
6 July 2021 Week before Change (%) WEEK’S CHANGE, FTSE 100 STOCKS 7,200
FTSE 100 7100.88 7087.55 0.19% RISES Price % change
FTSE All-share UK 4060.82 4042.58 0.45% Intl. Cons. Airl. Gp. 186.52 +7.26
Dow Jones 34454.40 34359.47 0.28% Informa 535.60 +6.44
NASDAQ 14613.27 14502.44 0.76% JD Sports Fashion 967.40 +5.43 7,000
were also spies. But there was little about Ethel. She didn’t parents. But we now know how important those early years of life
have a codename. She was, the cables noted, “a devoted person” are, and Ethel must have given those two boys so much in those
(i.e. a communist) but “[she] does not work” (i.e. she was not years that it lasted all their lives. Ethel must have been an
a spy). “That transcript was as close to a smoking gun as we extremely good mother.’”
would get,” says Robert, “because it said Julius and Ethel
didn’t do the thing they were killed for. Ethel didn’t work and A longer version of this article appeared in The Guardian.
Julius wasn’t an atomic spy, he was a military-industrial spy” © Guardian News and Media Ltd
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1 2 4 5 6 7 8
ACROSS DOWN
1 Comedy hits given credit (9) 2 Being bookish is rarely up 9
6 I’m a leader of Muslims (4) with IT (8)
10 Shock from having rear-end 3 Sort of car that’s the making 10 11
chopped off in aerobatics (4) of father (5)
11 Town shown by film in stereo? 4 Member of a clan merits ban
Not all of it (9) when out of order (9)
12 What helps it all run smoothly 5 Garden perhaps has pear tree 12 13
in musical? (6) finally cropped (5)
13 Charlie hating to remove a 7 Without equal and without a
garment? (8) game (9)
14 A little quiet merriment 8 Jolly little one in French
is organised around 1 May 14 15 16 17
department (6)
once (5,8) 9 Gen’s pregnant, Al’s gone
19 Mess up transport? Some missing (4) 18
may be fired (13) 15 Sounds like thoroughly
21 Most upset about Irish modern lass went for bug (9) 19
county (8) 16 NHS founder is close
24 Where farm workers may go reportedly (3) 20
for a snack (6) 17 Player on bench has position
26 Stress on pupils could be that’s material (9) 21 22 23 24 25
this (9) 18 VAT files sent causing
27 Tarmac part of unmade-up celebration (8)
avenue (4) 20 Southern Africa farmers saving
28 Garden feature stood out in vote for Chinese nationalists (6) 26 27
leaves (4) 22 Glut, say with no end of
29 Each in turn cut off needing fruit? (4)
supporter (9) 23 Incomplete puzzle in rag (5)
25 A letter opener (5)
28 29
Name
Address
Clue of the week: Despotic leader installed without a break (5, first letter P) Tel no
The Guardian, Brendan
Clue of the week answer:
Registered as a newspaper with the Royal Mail. Printed by Wyndeham Bicester. Distributed by Marketforce (UK) Ltd.
Subscriptions: subscriptions@theweek.co.uk.
10 July 2021 THE WEEK
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